ABC May 2 recognized the winners in its 2014 National Craft Championships competition, held at the association’s Workforce Development Conference, April 29 – May 2, in Birmingham, Ala.
A field of 156 craft trainees competed for top honors in 13 crafts. Competitors first took an intense, two-hour written exam and then competed in daylong hands-on practical performance tests in: carpentry, electrical-industrial, electrical-residential, fire sprinkler, HVAC, instrumentation fitting, insulation, millwright, pipefitting, plumbing, sheet metal, welding-pipe, welding-structural.
The 2014 winners are:
Carpentry
Gold: Brett Wesson
Training Sponsor: ABC Keystone Chapter
Employer: Wohlsen Construction Company
Silver: Darren Stauts
Training Sponsor: Associated Builders & Contractors - Northern California Chapter
Bronze: Chris Neubert
Training Sponsor: ABC Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter
Employer: Klover Contracting, Inc.
Safety: Brett Wesson
Training Sponsor: ABC Keystone Chapter
Employer: Wohlsen Construction Company
Electrical-Industrial/Commercial
Gold: Spencer Hoffman
Training Sponsor: Gaylor Electric
Employer: Gaylor Electric
Silver: Franklin Noble
Training Sponsor: ABC San Diego Chapter
Employer: Bergelectric Corp.
Bronze: Robson Marcondes
Training Sponsor: ABC Virginia Chapter
Employer: M.C. Dean Inc.
Safety: Franklin Noble
Training Sponsor: ABC San Diego Chapter
Employer: Bergelectric Corp.
Electrical-Residential/Commercial
Gold: Shaun Birch
Training Sponsor: ABC of the Carolinas
Employer: Watson Electrical Construction CO. LLC
Silver: Dillon Clemsen
Training Sponsor: ABC of Iowa Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Employer: Remsburg Service, Inc.
Bronze: Jose Vaca
Training Sponsor: ABC Los Angeles/Ventura Chapter
Employer: Bergelectric Corp.
Safety: Dillon Clemsen
Training Sponsor: ABC of Iowa Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Employer: Remsburg Service, Inc.
Fire Sprinkler
Gold: Paul Gibson
Training Sponsor: ABC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter
Employer: Piper Fire Protection
Silver: Rocky Thompson
Training Sponsor: American Fire Sprinkler Association
Employer: Rapid Fire Protection Inc.
Bronze: Shane Holt
Training Sponsor: Florida Automatic Sprinkler Training, Inc. (F.A.S.T.)
Employer: Wayne Automatic Fire Sprinklers, Inc.
Safety: Rocky Thompson
Training Sponsor: American Fire Sprinkler Association
Employer: Rapid Fire Protection Inc.
HVAC
Gold: Justin Witkowski
Training Sponsor: ABC Baltimore Metro Chapter
Employer: Green Contracting Company, Inc.
Silver: Nicholas Thacker
Training Sponsor: Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. Indiana/Kentucky Chapter
Employer: Freije-RSC Engineered Solutions
Bronze: David Allhands
Training Sponsor: ABC of Wisconsin Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Employer: North American Mechanical, Inc.
Safety: Nicholas Thacker
Training Sponsor: Associated Builders & Contractors, Inc. Indiana/Kentucky Chapter
Employer: Freije-RSC Engineered Solutions
Instrumentation Fitting
Gold: Bryon Hebert Jr.
Training Sponsor: ABC Pelican Chapter
Employer: ISC, Inc.
Silver: Logan Willmert
Training Sponsor: Interstates Companies
Employer: Interstates Companies
Bronze: Jonathan Siggio
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Employer: Triad Electric & Controls
Safety: Bryon Hebert Jr.
Training Sponsor: ABC Pelican Chapter
Employer: ISC, Inc.
Insulation
Gold: Trevor Reis
Training Sponsor: ABC Greater Michigan Chapter
Employer: G.E. Insulation
Silver: Mitch Schwoeppe
Training Sponsor: hth companies inc
Employer: hth companies inc
Bronze: Eric Valentine
Training Sponsor: Starcon International, Inc.
Employer: Starcon International, Inc.
Safety: Ron Strednicky, Jr.
Training Sponsor: Starcon International, Inc.
Employer: Starcon International, Inc.
Millwright/Industrial Maintenance
Gold: Michael Astle
Training Sponsor: Cianbro
Employer: Cianbro
Silver: Ashley Agbe
Training Sponsor: Associated Builders & Contractors, Texas Gulf Coast
Employer: RPM Services, Inc.
Bronze: Jeremy Michelli
Training Sponsor: ABC Pelican Chapter
Employer: Jacobs Field Service
Safety: Jeremy Michelli
Training Sponsor: ABC Pelican Chapter
Employer: Jacobs Field Service
Pipefitting
Gold: Ross Capps
Training Sponsor: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Employer: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Silver: Joshua Allgier
Training Sponsor: ABC Heart of America Chapter
Employer: Lee Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
Bronze: Matthew Allgier
Training Sponsor: ABC Heart of America Chapter
Employer: Lee Mechanical Contractors, Inc.
Safety: Bryan Collett
Training Sponsor: TIC
Employer: TIC
Plumbing
Gold: Gavin Gardner-Marlow
Training Sponsor: ABC of Iowa Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Employer: Kruck Plumbing and Heating Co., Inc.
Silver: Richard Ederer
Training Sponsor: ABC San Diego Chapter
Employer: Sherwood Mechanical
Bronze: Lee McKnight
Training Sponsor: ABC of Alaska
Employer: Klebs Mechanical
Safety: Gavin Gardner-Marlow
Training Sponsor: ABC of Iowa Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Employer: Kruck Plumbing and Heating Co., Inc.
Sheet Metal
Gold: Sidney Jones
Training Sponsor: ABC of Iowa Apprenticeship and Training Trust
Employer: C&K Heating and Plumbing
Silver: Kevin Sullivan
Training Sponsor: ABC San Diego Chapter
Employer: Brian Cox Mechanical, Inc.
Bronze: Corey Brown
Training Sponsor: ABC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter
Employer: Express Metals
Safety: Corey Brown
Training Sponsor: ABC Florida Gulf Coast Chapter
Employer: Express Metals
Welding-Pipe
Gold: Aaron Poole
Training Sponsor: Cianbro
Employer: Cianbro
Silver: Demetris Lawson
Training Sponsor: The Robins and Morton Group
Employer: The Robins and Morton Group
Bronze: Brandon Kinder
Training Sponsor: Starcon International, Inc.
Employer: Starcon International, Inc.
Safety: Brandon Kinder
Training Sponsor: Starcon International, Inc.
Employer: Starcon International, Inc.
Welding-Structural
Gold: Cecil Folse
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Silver: Houston Hall
Training Sponsor: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Employer: Zachry Industrial, Inc.
Bronze: Nathan Sutton
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
Employer: Hahnville High School
Safety: Cecil Folse
Training Sponsor: ABC New Orleans/Bayou Chapter
The National Craft Championships competition was developed in 1987 to help celebrate and recognize craft training in construction careers. Each year, the competition draws some of the nation’s most talented craftspeople and highlights the important role that craft skills training plays in the construction industry. The National Craft Championships Committee, which is composed of leading merit shop construction firms, plans all year for the two-day competition.